But the reopening of the historic church on the corner of Superior Avenue and East 17th Street raises a big question:

How will it survive its rebirth when the bulk of its congregation -- after it closed in April 2010 -- set up its own church that continues to flourish today outside the reach and authority of Lennon and the diocese?

Most parishioners returned to their mothballed churches when Lennon, under pressure from the Vatican in Rome, gave the word in April to reopen them.

But more than 350 members of St. Peter, along with their pastor the Rev. Robert Marrone, refused to disband when Lennon dissolved their parish.

So, renaming their congregation the Community of St. Peter, they set up their own church in rented commercial space on Cleveland's East Side, despite warnings from Lennon. Today, they number more than 450 and there are no signs they are returning to the diocesan fold.

Frank Titas, a spokesman for the group, said last month that the reopening of their old worship space "doesn't appear to have a real impact" on the new community.

At St. Peter's on Sunday, only about 145 people attended the reopening Mass celebrated by the parish's new pastor the Rev. Robert Kropac who is also the new pastor at the recently reopened St. Wendelin on Cleveland's near West Side.

Among the worshippers were at least 40 parishioners from other churches, including St. Wendelin and the breakaway Community of St. Peter, who came to support the reopening.

Kropac said he was happy with the turnout. "I've got to be optimistic," he said in an interview after Mass. "I think we have a chance."

After sitting dark and empty for more than two years, strains of alleluias echoed again Sunday through St. Peter's ancient architecture -- towering Corinthian pillars reaching to a grand vaulted ceiling.

Spot lights illuminated the stone altar. Lighted candles and arrays of fresh flowers accented the holy space. Fresh air and sunlight filtered through open panels in elaborate stained-glass windows.

"We are going to make this work, absolutely," said parishioner Joyce Watterson of Euclid who had joined the break-away group for awhile, but then roamed to other parishes.

"We're from Cleveland," she said. "We know how to work. And we're a people of faith. The Vatican gave us what we asked for. The bishop opened the door. Now it's up to us."

Joan Nuth of Cleveland Heights refused to join the break-away group, holding out hope that the 153-year-old St. Peter's would some day come alive again.

She was among about 40 parishioners who met last month to organize the reopening. "I walked in the door and heard the organ again," she said. "It made me cry."

In his sermon, Kropac talked about forgiveness, noting that many parishioners still hold anger over the closings of the churches.

"Forgiveness is an act of grace," he said and exhorted the congregation to move "from anger and bitterness to grace and mercy."

The priest was referring to Lennon's closing of 50 churches over a 15-month period beginning in 2009.

The bishop said the closings were necessary due to shortages of priests, people in pews and collection-basket cash.

But parishioners from 11 parishes, including St. Peter's, appealed the closings to a Vatican panel that upheld the appeals, saying Lennon did not demonstrate "grave" reasons for closing the churches. The bishop could have appealed Rome's rulings, but, instead, elected to reopen the 11 churches.

The only one not yet open is St. Emeric, a Hungarian church near the West Side Market. It still has no pastor or reopening date. Parishioners want a Hungarian-speaking priest, but Lennon has said he can't promise that.

On Thursday, diocese spokesman Robert Tayek said in a statement: "The bishop is hopeful that a new pastor will be named soon at St. Emeric."

At St. Peter's on Sunday, Joseph Wiencek, 14, of Medina, led the opening procession bearing a wooden cross as the congregation sang, "Sing a new church into being, one in faith and love and praise."

Kropac told the congregation he was confident they will work "to reconcile this parish, as challenging and daunting a task that it may be."

"Opening a church building is only the very beginning," he said.

After the ceremony's closing hymn, the congregation burst into applause.